Big news in the land of top law schools: NYU Law School Dean Richard Revesz will be stepping down from his position at the end of the academic year. Revesz most recently revamped NYU’s 3L curriculum. He leaves behind one of the best law schools in the nation (and some swanky faculty housing).

As David Lat just put it to me over Gchat, “Revesz has been there for ten years and he has seen it all — the boom and the bust of the legal profession.” As a current NYU student wrote to us, Revesz leaves “big shoes to fill, and I just hope that the next dean is just as successful at keeping our amazing professors here and attracting top-flight talent from other schools. His record on both counts has been superb.”

Despite its overall success, Ricky Revesz’s tenure was not without controversy. Let’s review some highlights (along with some UPDATES), after the jump….

Many will remember Revesz’s role in the Dr. Li-ann Thio controversy. Professor Thio was invited to NYU Law to teach a class on human rights. Revesz defended that choice even after reports surfaced that Thio was not a huge supporter of gay rights. Thio, while a member of Singapore’s parliament, once equated anal sex with “shoving a straw up your nose to drink” as she decried “acts of gross indecency” between two males.

Revesz defended the offer to Thio on the grounds of academic freedom, but eventually Thio herself decided not to come to NYU. It wasn’t the only time Revesz had to deal with the issue of possible hate speech against the LGBT community, but the Thio saga was a high-profile event.

Of course, when you run one of the most respected law schools in the country, you’re going to have to deal with some high-profile events. NYU is the sixth-ranked law school in the country according to U.S. News, and it shows no signs of slipping from that lofty perch — especially as long as the money keeps rolling in. As one current NYU Law student told us about Revesz, “My sense of his deanship is that he’s done a lot to raise money for the school.”

Check the next page for Revesz’s official announcement, along with the promised UPDATES. And start speculating on who will fill this prestigious post…

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